


The Princess and the Thief

by WhoCop



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: (nothing horrifying though), Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Canon Non-Binary Character, Child Abuse, I will add tags as they become relevant - Freeform, Multi, the Ruby 7 is a horse, warnings for sarah steels a+ parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoCop/pseuds/WhoCop
Summary: 18 years ago the Princess Juno was kidnapped but he dreams to leave his tower and one day explore the outside world---Its a Tangled AU y'all
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay, Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita & Juno Steel
Comments: 47
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for me   
> But also the people who said they were interested when I asked about it on tumblr

Once upon a time there was a kingdom called Hyperion. The kingdom had two wonderful Queens to rule its citizens. The Queens gave birth to twins: Princess Juno and Prince Benzaiten. They were a happy family, until the princess got sick. They had to find something to help him, and fast. Rumor had it that at the outskirts of the Kingdom there was a magical flower that could cure any illness. So, the Queens sent the royal guard to find this flower.

And find it they did. They brought this cure back to the princess and he recovered fully. There was something magical about him now, but that didn’t matter as long as he was alright. Or so they thought. For what the Queens didn’t know was that there was an evil witch that used the flower's powers for her own gain and would stop at nothing to keep that power all to herself. 

The Queens had plenty of friends in the castle who were willing to help them out with the twins. Their librarian, Rita, was perhaps the most enthusiastic about helping take care of the babies, and so one night she was keeping an eye on them. She wasn’t expected to stay awake the whole night, but she was expected to wake if she heard either of the children crying. 

The twins’ room was on the second level of the castle so it shocked her when she awoke to the sound of the window opening. She glanced around the room to see if either of the Queens had entered. When she didn't see them she made her way over to the window, intending to shut it. 

However, she was swiftly knocked over by the cloaked figure that had opened the window in the first place. “Hey what are you doing!”

The figure ignored her, turning her attention fully to Juno. 

And Rita realized what was about to happen, “Miss whoever you are you need to stop or I’m gonna have to call the--”

The woman had a knife pointed at her neck in an instant, “Just think about it and you and the kids all get it.”

She shut her mouth real fast after that. 

The woman picked Juno up and held him to her chest. She moved the knife to her mouth and grabbed Rita by the wrists. She started pulling her toward the window. “I can’t risk you blabbing to the Queens what happened; you’re coming with me.”

The only thing Rita could do in response was nod. 

And thus the Kingdom of Hyperion lost both their Princess and librarian.

\---

Juno grew up in an isolated tower on the farthest reaches of the Kingdom. He lived with his closest (and only) friend Rita and his mother Sarah. He wasn’t allowed outside of the tower for anything. If they needed something Sarah was sure to retrieve it for them. Rita wasn’t allowed outside the tower either since she was technically their servant, but Juno thought that was okay because he liked being with Rita all the time. 

Every few weeks he and his mother would do a magical ritual. She’d say, “Come here little monster.” 

And he’d run over to her and sing their special song. When he sang the special song his eye would glow and magical tears came out, which his mother used for _something_. Even if he didn’t understand what. Whatever it was it was powerful and valuable because he had been taught that if he were to ever leave he would be hunted by anyone for the power it held. So in the tower he stayed. 

As he got older Rita taught him all the things a young lady should know, reading, writing, mathematics, how to get in and out of trouble. After they finished schooling for the day they would read and paint and do chores around the tower until Sarah returned from wherever she went all day. It was the same routine every day. Except for one. 

One night was the most special night of the year. And it just so happened to coincide with Juno’s birthday. If he looked out his window he could see glowing lights emerge from off in the distance. He’d practised painting them year after year, staring at them for the hours that they floated in the sky. 

“Rita, what are the floating lights?” He asked one year. He knew Rita had at one point lived in the kingdom, and maybe she’d know what the strange phenomenon was.

“I dunno little Mista. But maybe one day you’ll find out.”

“Are you two talking about the stars again?” The anger the floating lights brought out in Sarah was unreasonable for what it was. Though most of her anger was unreasonable. And her reactions to it even moreso. 

Juno flinched, just slightly at the tone of her voice. “I don't think they’re stars Mother I--”

She was up and in his face in record time, “They’re just stars Juno and if i hear you talking like they aren’t ever again that’ll be it.”

“But--”

The sound of her palm on his face rang in his ears for moments after the moment of impact. He felt the tears well up in his eyes and slowly run down his cheeks. “‘M sorry Mother.”

“Miss Sarah--” Rita wants nothing more in that than to grab Juno and take him back to his real home. But she wasn’t going to be able to do that unless she miraculously gained an extra foot or two, phenomenal climbing skills, and a weapon. 

“What!”

She flinched at that sure, but she wasn’t letting anything worse happen to Juno that night, that was her top priority. Keep the both of them alive until the guard could find them. “I’m going to get Juno ready for bed.”

“Fine.”

She took him gently by the arm and led him up to his room. 

He’d stopped crying but he still looked shaken. “Hey, are you alright?”

He nodded, “‘S fine I deserved it. Mother doesn’t like--”

“That doesn’t matter Little Mista, she shouldn’t treat you like that.” 

Juno shrugged and started cleaning himself off and putting on his night clothes. “Rita? One day will you take me to see the--stars?”

“Of course I will Little Mista. I promise, I’m sure the floating lights will be everything you expect and more.” She said.

“You really think so?” Juno leaned off the edge of his bed. 

“For sure. But right now you gotta go to bed okay? I’ll read you a bedtime story.”

“Okay.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on switching up the POVs every so often but I promise we're getting to Nureyev soon

The palace was generally quiet in the mornings. People sleeping, or quietly getting everything ready for the day. Even now with the twins they were usually quiet enough, and if not whoever was watching them would be ready quick enough to calm them back down to sleep. So it was unusual for the Queens to wake up to the babies crying. Unusual, but not outright concerning on its own. 

And thus they took their time waking up and getting out of bed. After a lingering kiss or two and the realization that Rita wasn’t having any luck calming the kids down it was time for them to try their hand at it. 

When they opened the door however the room had a suspicious lack of Rita inside. 

“Maybe she went to get breakfast…?” Vespa took her wife’s hand to reassure her. She kept glancing around the room, hoping she’d jump out from behind, well something, anything. “C’mon let’s check on the kids.”

Benzaiten was the one crying so that made him their first order of business. Upon inspection he was just being fussy and Buddy was more than capable of taking care of that herself Vespa said, “Since you have him covered I’ll go check on our little Princess.”

Vespa froze when she got over to the cradle. Because there was no princess inside. She blinked a few times, making sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, and even patted down the blankets to make sure it truly was empty. And that’s when she felt the fear set in. “Buddy!”

The room wasn’t huge, so she was by her side in an instant. “What is it--Vespa where’s the baby?”

“Gone.”

And in an instant the Queens of Hyperion lost an entire part of their world. 

They sent their Captain of the guard, one Jet Siquliak, on the case to bring home their lost princess. They searched for months with tips from all over the kingdom, but in the end, there was nothing. They could no longer divert the whole force’s power to do search and rescue missions, but it didn’t stop them from looking at any and every chance. 

The last big search and rescue expedition was on the twins first birthday. That day should have been a day of great celebration. The first birthday celebration for the heirs to the kingdom. There should have been decorations, pomp and circumstance. The twins would have had little birthday cakes from the baker down the street and presents from the staff and probably other forgien dignitaries trying to get on the Queens’ good side. Instead they received a fraction of the gifts, only one tiny cake, and formal condolences from all their allies. 

The three royals sat on the balcony outside the Queens’ room folding together paper lanterns. They picked their three favorites and set them off to the sky in memorial for their lost princess. And thus the tradition was born, out of memorial, regret, and hope that one day the lost princess would return to the palace with his brother and mothers. 

\---

Benzaiten grew up surrounded by people. His tutor, the palace chef, the royal guard, and the entire kingdom when he’d go down to the square. And of course his mothers. They protected him, somewhat fiercely all things considered. They were protective, sure, but not overbearing, he was allowed anywhere in the castle and just had to let them know where he was going when he went into town. 

The only time he faced any real pushback was when he tried to join the guard on their search for his brother. That wasn’t to say he never got to go on the searches, just that he had to wait until he was older to do so. The first year he was deemed old enough to join the guard he was given strict instructions to stay within an adult’s line of sight at all times, and he was given more weapons than he knew what to do with as he left. 

He rode on horseback with Jet on his horse Ruby VII, which implied that there had been six Rubys before this one, though Benzaiten hadn’t met any of them. He only knew this Ruby and she was the smartest horse he’d ever met. If anyone was going to find the lost princess it was going to be with her help for sure. 

She was Jet’s horse through and through and everybody in the kingdom knew it. She rarely strayed from his side unless told to do otherwise and generally responded better to Jet’s commands. She definitely played favorites. And after hours of horseback riding lessons with her the Prince was one of her favorites. If only because he was prone to being a bit excessive with his rewards for her when she was being a good horse. 

The group spread out across the kingdom in smaller groups to go on their search for the princess. By this point none of them were expecting much, but they weren’t going to try any less to find him, especially not on the Prince’s first outing with them. 

The Prince and Jet ended up apart from the rest of the group during part of their search. The prince had been quiet for most of the journey, but he finally spoke up, “Captain Jet?”

“Yes, Prince Benzaiten?” He stopped Ruby, turning his full attention to his Prince. 

“Do you think we’re actually going to find my brother?”

Jet paused, and in that moment Benten’s heart dropped. People didn’t pause like that when they were certain about things, when they were confident that what they were looking for was going to be found. “I cannot say for certain Prince Benzaiten. But if we cannot then it will not be for lack of trying. We will do everything we can to find Princess Juno.”

The Prince nodded. It was good that they weren’t going to give up anytime soon, but it wasn’t ideal that they didn’t seem to have much hope that his brother was still alive. He sighed, “What do you think will happen if we do find him?”

“Well we’ll bring him home of course.” 

Maybe one day he would see his brother again.


	3. Chapter 3

Rex Glass was a master thief. No one else in Hyperion was as skilled at it as he was. He didn't like working with people if he didn’t have to. But even a master thief has to have accomplices sometimes. He was in charge of this mission no matter what those other two said. He was in charge and that meant he was getting the bulk of the payout. Sure it might involve a little back stabbing but stabbing was what he did best, and anyway his partners weren’t the nicest people around anyway. 

And that’s how he ended up dangling above one of the Queens’ most valued objects. It wasn’t that he necessarily wanted to steal from the Queens, they seemed like fine enough people. But he needed a big enough job to set him for life and this was it. He wouldn’t have to scavenge for food like he did as a child, or worry about where to stay the night. 

And he’d be able to get his hands on a nice castle just like the one he was dangling in. But first he had to finish the job, without getting caught until they were far enough away the guard wouldn’t have their necks. Two members of the guard stood in front of him, backs turned. He scooped the Queens’ ceremonial dagger into his hands and then quickly into a hilt on his leg. Sure, he was going to have to put that in the ‘shared bag’ when he got back out with his partners, but until then it was all his. If it weren’t for the ridiculous pay he was getting for it he’d be half tempted to keep it for himself. It would have done a really good job helping him in his line of work. And boy did it match his aesthetic, beautiful, but also very dangerous. Just like he was. 

One of the other two pulled him up, they weren’t going too fast or too slow. So at least that was a plus. At least they weren’t incompetent at their job. He made it halfway up before one of the guards turned and saw him. His accomplices pulled him up just in time to not get stopped by the guard. 

But now they had to run like hell out of the main city, lest the guard captain and his horse were going to throw them right in jail. And then they probably would never see the light of day again. Mostly because they’d very soon be six feet under. Not that he cared too much about those other two, he did want to live long enough to get himself a castle. So they ran. 

That damn horse was fast. Even with their head start (and his long legs) the guard was starting to gain on them. But they were fast approaching the forest, and they’d at least be able to slow a group on horses down. There was just one more hurdle to make. 

The city wall. 

The boundary between the city and the forest loomed in front of them. He smiled. He was about to hit the jackpot. “Okay if you two give me a boost I’ll pull you over.”

“Like hell Glass, you’re just going to take off with the dagger.” One of the two said. 

“Fine.” He tossed them a knife off his belt, “You hold onto it.”

And then they lifted him up over the wall. And he saluted them and hopped down. He obviously had given them one of his personal knives, one that was easily replaced. Why they hadn’t checked wasn’t his problem but it was a bad move. There was actually very little honor among thieves. 

It didn’t seem like it would take long for either one or both of the two would catch up to him soon or even the guard. So he had to make a move, and he had to do it quick. 

And of course it was the horse that was gaining on him. She probably had the highest chance of actually catching him. He tried to remember if he knew anything about out running horses. He was pretty sure he didn’t, and worse somehow he could tell it wouldn’t be outrunning the horse that he’d have to worry about. It was outsmarting her. 

He ended up pushed up against a wall, just out of the horse’s sight. And it wasn’t a wall at all. Just something that looked earily similar to a wall. But he wasn’t a man to look at a good opportunity and walk away. So he pushed through the barrier. 

Inside was something he’d never seen before. Like nothing he’d ever seen. 

A tower, standing alone, in the middle of a field with nothing around it. Presumably a tower like that hadn’t been used in a long time. A perfect hiding place. He looked around for some kind of a door, checking the brick work to make sure there wasn’t a trick door somewhere to let him in. But in the end there was nothing. He sighed. His boots really weren’t made for climbing, but it looked like that was his only choice. 

Either whoever built this was a genius at keeping people out, or a complete idiot, because no one wants to have to have a full body workout just to get into their house. He wasn’t a slow or bad climber, but climbing up a tower with little to no footholds in boots with very little grip was going to take some time. If anyone was inside they had every opportunity to knock him down sending him to a rather unfortunate death. Though perhaps they hadn’t seen the hundreds of wanted posters with his face plastered all over them all across the kingdom and they’d be nice to him. The thought made him laugh to himself. 

When he finally made it up to the only visible route to inside of the tower, the window, he gripped the edges and pulled himself in. He was definitely ready to sit back against the wall and take a nice long break. But before he could do any of that he saw a young lady, armed with a frying pan, and then he knocked him out with it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry about not posting last week and posting late today  
> School and life have been kicking my butt so I haven't had the time or motivation to write  
> (plus I wanted a lot more from this chapter)  
> But its here now!! So I hope it was worth the wait and yall enjoy it

It was almost his birthday again. His favorite night of the year. And this year he was going to make sure it was special.This year he was going to see the floating lights in person. Or at least he hoped to; he was going to be 18, why shouldn’t his mother allow him to see them? 

His mother had spent the day getting their groceries for the week, and he decided the best time to ask was the present. He asked Rita to be there with him, for moral support. They sat together, making their game plan up until Sarah came back. Sure he was nervous, but he really thought maybe this year would be different. Or at least Rita did, and if he backed out now she’d be disappointed. And he wanted nothing less than to disappoint Rita. 

His mother had set up a method of levers and pulleys so that Juno could pull her up to the top of the tower as soon as she called up to him. When he was younger Rita had to help him pull, but at this point he had the arm strength to do it himself. “Hey Ma.”

Sarah Steel’s face lit up the way it did every time she was happy to be home so Juno could sing for her. He had the sinking feeling every so often that she wouldn’t bother with him at all if it weren’t for his magical tears. But then again that seemed ridiculous, she protected him from all the people outside the tower, she fed him and bought him clothes. She definitely loved him. Right?

So he smiled back, “Hey, I wanted to actually talk--”

“Just a second my little monster,” she said, dropping the groceries on to the counter, “Sing for me first?”

There was no way to tell her no without... _consequences_. So he did so. Albeit faster than was strictly necessary. But he did have things to say and the longer it dragged on the less likely he was to actually commit. “So, as I was saying, tomorrow’s a big day.”

“Is it?”

Juno sighed. She did that every year: pretended she had no idea when his birthday was. Maybe it wasn’t an act, she had forgotten a year or two, luckily Rita was always there with a small cake and sometimes a little present or two. He really had no idea how she always had that prepared, but she did. She was reliable like that. 

“Actually it’s his birthday tomorrow Miss Steel.” Rita spoke up from where she was working. “A pretty big one too.”

That was definitely something Rita would say. But she was also very much prodding him to tell his mother about his great plan to leave his tower and see the lights. “Yeah Rita’s right,” he said it quickly before his mother had the chance to yell at Rita for saying irrelevant information or something. “And I know what I want as a present this year.”

“Oh? And what’s that my little monster?” 

Well so far so good. “I want to see the floating lights. It's perfect because--”

“The stars? Why my little monster you can see the stars just fine from here,” She said, brushing him off. 

“Actually like I said before they aren’t stars,” he said, “Rita showed me books about stars and they only change by the seasons and these lights only happen once a year. Please, I feel like I have to see them.”

“Oh what?” She took a step closer to him, “You really think you could make it out there?” She laughed. 

Something about her laugh made him flinch back, but he had no intention of backing down, “I mean I don’t see why not. I wouldn’t go all alone. Rita can come.”

“Oh? And you think the two of you can survive against all the terrible people who’d want to steal your magic? I’m the only thing protecting you from them, and the only way I can protect you is if you never leave,” She said. 

“I-I’m sure I can handle it,” He said, though not as confidently as before. 

“No, you can’t. I mean look at you--” she gestured at him up and down, “--you couldn’t hold your own in a fight against all the mean men out in the world. And even if you could, you’d probably die of disease or some other horrible fate. I can keep you safe my little monster.”

“But--” 

“Do not ask to leave this tower ever again Juno.”

“Of course mother.” He sat back down against the wall. 

“I have a few more errands to run, you’ll be okay here? Of course you will.” She started back to the window, “I love you, my little monster.”

“I love you too ma.” He watched her go back down. 

Once he was sure she was gone he groaned, “Well that couldn’t have gone worse.”

“Oh sure it could’ve like--”

“Rita I’m not in the mood to hear the worst case scenarios right now,” he said, burying his face in his arms, “What am I gonna do now?”

“Well we could always just go by ourselves.” Rita was staring directly at him. 

“No...she’s right...it is very dangerous out there. I don’t want to get hurt,” He said. 

“Outside of here ain’t so bad,” Rita said, “I mean sure there’s some bad people but most of ‘em are nice.”

Juno shrugged. But then he heard something, coming from outside the tower. He quickly grabbed the nearest object he could use as a weapon, which just happened to be a frying pan. Then he snuck over to the window, and making sure he wasn’t seen, took a glance down below. 

It was a man. He was climbing up the tower. Juno knew he had choices that he had to make. But taking care of this guy would surely prove to his mother that he could handle himself, right? Or maybe he knew his way around the outside world enough to take Juno to the floating lights. So he stood there, ready to strike once this mystery man made it into the tower. 

The mystery man pulled himself into the window, and let out a sigh of relief in the second before he got a good look at Juno and a better look at the other end of a frying pan. 

“Juno!” 

And he knew it was bad, because Rita never just called him by his first name. “Sorry sorry, I just thought--”

“What are you gonna do with him now?” 

“I--I guess i have to put him somewhere before ma gets home? Yeah, it’ll be a great surprise.” He started trying to lift the man up and shove him, somewhere. 

“And then what’re you gonna do?”

“It’ll be a surprise, so ma knows I can handle myself outside,” He answered. 

Rita thought about what he’d said for a moment before nodding, “You know what? That makes a lotta sense Little Mister.”

\---

He paced around waiting for his mother to get back. A million scenarios ran through his head, most of them involving the intruder waking up and pushing his way out of the cabinet. The first few times he’d thought of that he’d opened the door and double checked the knots on his bindings. But then he’d started to worry that keeping that up would eventually wake him up. So instead he just started pacing. 

For a while Rita was trying to calm him down. But eventually when she realized nothing she was going to say would stop him she grabbed a book and started reading. She still looked up every so often to make sure it wasn’t getting any worse, but generally he was just pacing back and forth. 

By the time Sarah actually got back to the tower he’d worn himself out and sat in front of the cabinet where the mystery man was currently knocked out and tied up. When he heard her coming he made his way over to the pulley system and started bringing her up. 

He moved faster than normal. Ready to prove himself to his mother, that he was ready to leave the tower, if only for a day. Just to see the lights. And this time he had all the proof he needed. 

“I have a surprise for you,” she said as she climbed in the window. 

Juno smiled, “Actually so do--”

“Look little monster, I got everything we need to have a big birthday dinner for you.” 

And she had, she’d brought home just about every kind of food he liked. Any other day he’d give up and just take that as a win. But not this time, he wasn’t going to be distracted. “So I--uhh wanted to tell you something.”

She moved over to him, and acted like he hadn’t said anything at all, “I missed you my little monster. I don’t want to fight with you, but you just don’t understand what the big mean world is like.”

“Okay. I actually was thinking about that--”   
“This isn’t the stars again is it Juno?”

“Well,” he said, “Actually it sort of is…”

She frowned, “We’ve been over this. You’re not leaving.”

“Okay, but you said it’s because I’m not strong enough and--” He was inching his way over to the cabinet, trying to prepare for the big reveal. 

“That’s because you aren’t strong enough, little monster,” She said. 

“But--”

She grabbed him by the collar, “No. That is final. You are not leaving this tower, ever. Understood?”

He froze. Thinking back to the man in the cabinet. He was always a backup plan. “Of course mother. I was just saying I know what I want for my birthday. That fancy paint you got me a few years ago, the really pretty white kind.”

Sarah relaxed. “That’s a three day journey.”

“I’ll be okay with Rita. As long as I’m in the tower I’m safe right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I love you my little monster, and I’ll miss you.” She kissed his forehead.

“I love you too.”

And then she was gone. And Juno and Rita had to start getting ready for plan B.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to practice good hydration take a sip of water (please I'm begging you to only use water this is not an official drinking game do not drink alcohol to my fanfiction) every time Nureyev is gay for Juno   
> It happens a lot

There was a different lady staring him down than the one that had knocked him out. She was much smaller, though she seemed very intimidating right in that moment. Luckily he’d been tied up plenty of times before so he started trying to struggle his way out of the bindings that they’d tied him up in. 

“Nuh uh mistah,” the woman currently in his face said, “You’re not gonna be able to break outta those so easily, especially not without these.” She held up his knives. _All of his knives_. 

Honestly he was kind of impressed, some of those were very well hidden. He was mostly upset that he’d been kidnapped in the middle of nowhere in the forest. He had things to do and people to see. “Now, now ladies--” and then he locked eyes with the one who’d knocked him out. And _wow_ he was gorgeous. He honestly could stand being kidnapped with him forever, if it weren’t for the very hefty price he was about to get for the Queens’ knife. 

“Who are you?” The frying pan pointing right at his face really did make him seem more intimidating, but his eyes were where Rex kept his gaze. He really was pretty. 

When he didn’t answer the pretty one with the frying pan tried again, “I know why you’re here. How did you find me?”

He stared for a minute, puzzled, he barely knew why he was there other than it was a convenient place to hide from the palace guards. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with pretty face. And then he put himself back into Rex Glass instead of the lovestruck-- “Hello beautiful, I’m Rex Glass. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find myself here with you, but I am glad I did.” 

“Who else knows where I am, _Rex Glass_?” He pointed the pan closer to his face. 

He pulled himself back away from the pan. “Alright, beautiful--”

“It’s Juno.”

“ _Juno_ , a beautifully fitting name for a goddess such as yourself,” he flirted. He didn’t generally flirt with his captors but again he was very pretty. “Anyway, I was just in a little...altercation in the woods and I stumbled upon this tower and I thought I’d just stay here until the whole thing calmed down. So if I can just have my belongings back--”

“What do you want my eye for?” 

And he wasn’t ready for that. His _what_? What would he want this poor boy’s eye for? And cutting his eye out was definitely not on his agenda for the week. Honestly that sounded disgusting. Plus, how could he disfigure such a lovely face? “What? Honestly beautiful I just want my things and I’ll be out of your hair.”

He slowly lowered the pan, “You really don’t want my eye?”

“Honestly on top of that sounding disgusting, I have no wish to harm you, also I’d get blood all over my nice new clothes and that really would be a crime wouldn’t it?” He smiled at him. 

“You’re telling the truth?”

“Of course I am! I never lie about my clothes.” He laughed, hoping this was de-escalating the situation and he wouldn’t be killed by this pretty lady. 

“What do you think, Rita?” He turned to the woman, Rita apparently, “Do you think we can trust him?” 

“I think he’s tellin’ the truth. But we gotta be careful little mista,” She said. 

He nodded, “Okay, I’m going to offer you a deal.”

“Oh?” His interest was piqued, anything that would get him his things back was definitely on the table. 

“Do you know what these are?” He pulled back a curtain to reveal a painting of…

“The lanterns for the princess?” He hadn’t gone to the ceremony in years. Not since he was a kid. And that was its own lifetime ago. But it was a nice sentiment.

Something about that made Rita look like she was about to cry, but honestly that was something Juno could deal with. Rex needed to deal with himself and himself only. If that meant working with Juno he wouldn’t complain, but he couldn’t go around to every sad soul in Hyperion and cheer them up. 

Juno however looked, almost shocked. “I knew they weren’t stars.” He said that part to himself, clearly. “Well, tomorrow evening they will light the night sky, with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, Take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your belongings to you. That is my deal.”

He sucked in a breath, “Unfortunately, the Captain and his horse aren’t very happy with me right now, so I will be unable to do that for you. I really need to be getting as far away from the kingdom as I can.”

“Listen here Glass,” He said, “I’ve decided to trust you.”

“That’s a bad decision honestly, princess,” He said.

“But, you will never be able to get those back without us, and Rita has every ability to hide those from you where you will never find them.” The frying pan was back up.

He sighed. He was at an impasse. “So if I take you to see the lanterns and back home, I’ll get my stuff back?” 

“I promise.”

And he believed him. He didn’t seem the type to lie anyway. And if he doesn’t know about the lanterns he certainly doesn’t know about how valuable the knives were. “Fine, I’ll take you to see the lanterns.”

Rita sliced off his bindings with one of his knives. He sighed and flexed his wrists. He wasn’t going to try and take the knives back with both of their eyes glued on him. “Are you coming beautiful?” He asked as he and Rita worked on climbing down the tower. 

He looked the tower up and down, like he was nervous. “If you fall I’ll catch you.” He hoped that sounded encouraging. 

He finally made his way down, slowly but surely. He didn’t need to be caught by Rex, but there were definitely a few close calls. When he made it to the ground safely Rex offered him his hand, “What do you think?”

Juno let out a breath, “I can’t believe I did this. Ma’s gonna kill me.”

Rex glanced at him, worried. But then he decided he probably wasn’t the best authority on good parental figures so he kept his mouth shut. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m seeing those lanterns.”

Rex shrugged, “Well then, I’m sure you’re hungry, and I know just the place.”


	6. Chapter 6

Of course he was nervous. He didn’t know this guy and yet he was following him. But on the plus side at least he was going to get to see the lanterns. And Rita was there, she’d protect him. 

And he’d brought the frying pan, just in case. 

Him and Rita were trailing back behind Rex. Juno fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. Just about everything that was going on made him nervous. What if this Rex guy tried to kill him or something? What would his mother say if she found out? 

Rita came up beside him and grabbed his hand, “Are you okay?”

Juno nodded, though he wasn’t entirely sure himself. “Do you think we can trust that guy?”

Rita paused. “I mean I do have all his knives. And we’re pretty strong. I bet we could take him.” She lifted up a fist. 

Juno laughed, “I guess so.”

He let himself match pace with their mysterious guide. "So... Glass, where are you taking us?"

He smiled, "You can call me Rex, Princess."

Juno rolled his eyes ," And you can call me Juno, Glass. Where are we going?"

Glass laughed, just a little. "Just a stop for lunch Princess. I'm hungry and I'm sure you are as well. And I know of the perfect place I'm sure you'll... love."

Juno nodded. They walked in silence a bit farther. "So, what were you doing in the wood around my tower?"

"I told you, " he waved a hand around vaguely, "l had a disagreement and I was in the wood hoping they wouldn't find me." 

"Who was chasing after you? And why."

Glass sighed, "Why? Do you think you know them, princess? Anyway, it was less of a who and more of a horse."

Juno stopped dead in his tracks. "How did you get into a fight with a horse? What did you do, steal her apples?"

Glass smiled, "No her owner doesn't particularly like me and she is very smart and just followed his suit."

Juno opened his mouth to ask for more information before they approached a building. It was drastically different to the tower.

"And this is our stop Princess. Shall we go in?"

He nodded, “Let’s go.”

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting in his first trip outside of the tower but this was not it. The people inside of this establishment were much more in line with what his mother had warned him about. He moved closer to Rita. Everything was starting to get much more real and much more overwhelming. He pulled on Rita’s sleeve. 

“Are you alright?” Rita whispered to him. 

She didn’t offer up the option to go back to the tower, but the option to leave was definitely on the table. 

He took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of ruffians and thugs. It was do this or go back to the tower without seeing the lights. He did have Rita and all of the knives, and Glass didn’t seem too nervous. But all eyes were on them. 

He looked back to Rita, “I’ll be okay. I want this.”

Glass went up to the bartender, “Sir I’ll take--”

The bartender slammed his hand down, staring Glass down. 

Juno flinched back. And Glass stared right back at the bartender, “Can I help you?”

The bartender grabbed a poster from behind him and shoved it in Glass’s face, “Is this you?” 

Glass blinked a few times taking the poster in. He was examining something on it closely, “Now that’s not what my teeth look like.”

One of the patrons grabbed the back of Glass’s collar, pulling him towards herself to get a better look at him. She looked him up and down, “Oh that’s definitely him. Someone go get the guards, the payout is going to be worth every penny.”

“Oh no,” The bartender said, “It’s mine, I found him first.”

And from there the bar erupted into chaos. The patrons were yelling and arguing about who was going to get the reward money for Glass who had done some unknown crime. And just as Juno saw a guy pick up a chair in preparation to throw it he quickly made his way on top of one of the tables. “Hey! Knock it off!” 

Somehow he had been loud enough to get the attention of the entire room. And now he had to figure out how to appease these people who were already ready for a brawl and convince them that none of them could have Glass for a reward as he needed him to take him to the floating lights. “Listen, stop fighting over him! I need him to take me to the lanterns, I’ve been dreaming about them my entire life and this might be my only chance to see them, it’s my dream? Haven’t any of you had dreams?”

The mood shift in the room was palpable. 

The bartender froze, “Do _I_ have a dream?”

And suddenly Juno felt very threatened by the bartender. That was until the man broke out into a massive smile, “ _Do I have a dream_? Fuck yeah I have a dream. See I have the greatest idea in this part of Hyperion--” And then he started very quickly and in a very rambling fashion to describe whatever it was that was his passion project. But Juno couldn’t keep up with it. 

After the long winded story Juno smiled back at the man, “Yeah that sounds great.” He looked around at the rest of the room, “And what about everyone else?”

One by one the people in the bar came up to him bearing their dreams to Juno. Some of them dreamed of love, others fame. And Juno was starting to see that they really were just people, they weren’t scary anymore. 

And then the bar descended back into chaos as one of the patrons returned from alerting the kingdom guards. “He’s in here!”

The group looked over at Glass, Juno, and Rita and silently made a decision. They ushered the group behind the bar. “Where are you taking us?” Rita asked.

“Just go down there. Go live your dream kid.”

“Thanks.” 

And then they were submerged in darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys are being so patient for this update I've been slammed with school and doctors appointments   
> Plus this chapter was a pain to write


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a mental breakdown last week but now its going better so enjoy the 2 John Mulaney references in here

Odds were that this wasn’t going to end well.

There were who knows how many guards behind them and they were in a tunnel that presumably had only one entrance and exit. 

And he was stuck in that position with one naïve lady and his...keeper? He’d yet to work out their relationship. But, he was a professional, so he wasn’t going to panic, at least not yet. They just had to push through. Only a little longer and the ladies would be out of his hair and he’d have all of his belongings back. 

“So Rex, where are you from?”

He didn’t flinch, he was just startled by the question. He smiled at him, “Ah that’s for me to know and you to...not, Princess. It’s you I’m much more interested in. So, I won’t mention your eye, or your mother or—“ Why was Juno suddenly pulling on his sleeve? They were just at the edge of the tunnel, what could possibly be out there?

“Uhh Rex, who are they?”

He turned, slowly considering the situation and the look on Juno’s face. And then he made eye contact with his accomplices from his earlier heist and he froze. Well that’s what could possibly be out there. “Ah.” He took a moment to suppress all of the feelings he was suddenly dealing with, and put his charm back on, “hm, they don’t like me all that much.” 

And then, as if their day couldn’t get any worse that damn horse and her rider along with a handful of the royal guard showed up. He hadn’t wanted to get into a fight today but it looked like the universe wasn’t giving him a choice. 

Once Juno caught sight of the guard he turned back to him, with the same face he’d had on before. “Well that’s--”

“The royal guard.” Rita herself had frozen as well. Just staring at the horse and her rider. 

But he definitely didn’t have time to unpack all of that as well. So he decided to keep his focus on Juno, and making sure he didn’t die. He had a sinking feeling that if Juno died Rita would be returning him his collection of knives, but rather them being on his person they would be within him. He didn’t really like the idea of getting a fatal stab wound anytime soon, so protecting Juno it was. 

“Do you remember that horse I mentioned earlier, Princess?” 

“She’s part of the Royal Guard? What did you do?” 

He stared at Juno for just a second, “Maybe we should wait to have this conversation later and find a way out of this?” 

Juno grunted in response. But he raised his frying pan anyway. 

Rita had taken one of his knives out and was holding it out to protect herself from the thugs. And eventually she tossed him one of the less valuable ones. The look on her face clearly said that this was for protection only. But that was alright. 

And then in a flash Juno moved in his peripheral vision and was out of sight. He whipped around, he didn't have time for him to fall off a cliff. “What are you--” And then he realized that Juno had found a rope and had swung himself over to the other section of rocks. Which was importantly closer to safety. He took a second to let out a breath. Right before all hell broke loose. As both the thugs and the guard realized that they now had a way out they started to charge at him and Rita. 

They fended them off pretty well. That was until it was just them and that damn horse. Honestly if he never saw a horse again, not even this specific one, though most especially her, it would be too soon. Somehow she was matching him, a skilled fighter with his own weapon of choice. He wasn’t even going to ask how she had acquired a knife. Adult life was already so goddamn weird this may as well happen. 

And then miraculously the rope was back closer to their side. He grabbed hold and held out his hand to pull Rita along with him. They had a very narrow window of opportunity before the horse tried to stab them. 

This really shouldn’t be happening. None of it made any goddamn sense. 

When they were both holding on tight he propelled them across the gap and over to where Juno was waiting for them. 

And then all hell broke loose. Again. 

Because apparently at some point during their skirmish someone, he was willing to guess the horse, had knocked back the support beams holding up the dam. Luckily human instinct kicked in and they all started running to the mine shaft at the other end of the cliff they were currently standing on. 

Unfortunately, yes more bad things were happening at an absurd rate, the shaft itself was caved in and one of the support beams blocked off the entrance just as they made it in. But not enough to prevent the deluge of water from seeping in. 

They were trapped. 

He tried, in vain, to see if any of the rocks surrounding them would come loose, but it was so dark he couldn’t make anything out. “It’s no use, I can’t see anything.It’s too dark.”

Well this was all of his worst nightmares folded into one event. Dying in one of the most painful ways, trapped in a corner (so his claustrophobia wasn't so unfounded then), and trying to suppress a panic attack in front of one of the genuinely most beautiful people he had seen in his life. 

Though it was some consolation that Juno didn’t seem to be faring much better. Not that he wanted him to suffer, but at least he wasn’t making a fool of himself. “This is all my fault. She was right, I never should have done this. I'm so... I'm so sorry, Rex.”

“No, it’s better to die having seen the world than survive all cooped up little mister,” Rita spoke for the first time in a while, which was odd because she gave the impression that in non life or death moments she never shut up. 

“Peter.”

“What?” Juno stared at him.

The water kept rising but he wasn’t going to die anonymous. Someone was going to know who he was. Even if it was in both of their last moments. “That’s my real name. Peter Nureyev.” 

“And--” Rita was about to say something when Juno started smiling. 

“I have a magic eye that glows when I sing. I bet we could use that to get out of here!”

And then he did that. And again, Nureyev wasn’t going to question it. With this magically sourced light they were finally able to dig a pile of rocks off of the wall and out to the surface. 

He was comfortable enough in himself to say that he did cry of relief when they made it to a shore, surrounded by grass and the wide open air.

**Author's Note:**

> If yall want to talk about this AU or have any questions about it you can check out my [ tumblr ](https://thinking-about-ducks.tumblr.com/)  
> Please talk to me :)


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